GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Boeing is targeting Singapore and Australia as potential F-15E customers following its success in South Korea. The Korean order for 40 F-15Ks, which Boeing hopes will be signed by July, will sustain production until 2008 at least, making the two-seat multirole fighter a contender in additional competitions.
The US manufacturer is offering Singapore both the F-15E and F/A-18E/F as replacements for its Northrop F-5s. Singapore is expected to evaluate initial packages for all candidate aircraft before issuing a formal request for proposal to a narrower selection of bidders. A best and final round of bidding is expected by August.
Boeing is also expected to offer the F-15E as a near-term replacement for the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) General Dynamics F-111s, which may have to be retired by 2012 - earlier than the 2020 originally envisioned - because of wing fatigue cracks. But the retirement could be delayed if the RAAF chooses to rewing its F-111s with wings taken from US Air Force FB-111s in storage.
Boeing has already made an unsolicited offer to replace the F-111s with F/A-18E/Fs, which is also a contender for Australia's Air 6000 requirement to replace its F/A-18A/Bs (Flight International, 26 March-1 April). The RAAF had expressed interest in the F-15, but the prospect of the line shutting down in 2004 when US Air Force production ends had ruled it out.
Deliveries to South Korea are to begin in 2005 and will push the production rate up from four a year to one a month. South Korea also has options for a further 40 F-15Ks, but is expected to buy an additional 20-25, pushing production beyond 2008.
Boeing is hopeful the extended production run will give F-15 customers Israel and Saudi Arabia an opportunity to order more aircraft.
Egypt has long expressed interest in the F-15, but it is considered unlikely that the US state department or Congress would sanction a deal.
Boeing has entered negotiations to close the Korean deal, but faces the threat of legal action from losing bidder Dassault, which has applied for an injunction to prevent signing of the contract. Negotiations will cover options offered to South Korea, including an active-array radar and an offset package.
Source: Flight International
